31 MARCH 2015

By Lou Catalano: He was in trouble right from the beginning.
When Andre Berto met up with Victor Ortiz in a welterweight showdown in April, few people gave Ortiz much of a chance. Ortiz was still fighting to get the “quitter” label off of him after bowing out against Marcos Maidana. He was moving up in weight, and he’d never been in with a guy as fast and slick as Berto.

By Derek Bonnett: The hardest hits this week came from Hurricane Irene as she worked her way up the East Coast of the United States. Causing major damage in 12 states, Irene was reduced to Tropical Storm designation and went out to sea late on Sunday.

As we near the September 17 mega-event Mayweather vs. Ortiz” emanating from both the boxing capital of the world, Las Vegas, and the celebrity capital of the world, Los Angeles, the connection between the squared circle and the silver screen comes even more into focus.

Former multi weight boxing champion Oscar De La Hoya says he has contemplated suicide in the past and has been going to a rehabilitation Center to be treated for drug and alcohol dependency. In a remarkably honest and truthful interview with Spanish-language network Univision that aired Tuesday, De La Hoya said he has been sober for three months after hitting rock bottom over the past two years.

By Ron Valderrama: Professional Boxing returns to Phoenix this Friday September 2nd when Alma Carrasco Canez in association with Estrella Promotions host "Duelo De Campeones" (Duel of Champions) at the El Zaribah Shriners Auditorium.

Former WBA Featherweight Champion Yuriorkis Gamboa and former WBO Junior Featherweight king Daniel Ponce De Leon, along with their respective promoters hosted a media conference call today to discuss their 12-round featherweight rumble on September 10, at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.

In This Corner TV’s. James ‘Smitty’ Smith recently conducted an exclusive interview with the undefeated Jesse Vargas ahead of his bout with Josesito Lopez at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on September 17.

Lucian Bute is expecting nothing less than a tough battle when he defends his IBF super-middleweight crown against ‘Road Warrior Glen Johnson at the Pepsi Coliseum in Quebec City, Canada on November 5.

In what has become a common story from rising Philadelphia fighters, 25-year-old Gabriel Rosado, like undefeated 28-year-old welterweight Mike Jones, credits ageless wonder Bernard Hopkins for being a helpful influence.

By Dave McKee: Paulie Ayala was a champion in the ring. He won titles and lost to only the very best the sport had to offer. Having decided to retire, Ayala has done what very few boxers are able to accomplish: stay retired. This is due to re-channeling his energies into other meaningful avenues. He operates a gym in his native Fort Worth.

By Matthew Hurley There is something so uniquely human when a boxer finds his courage, his sense of self-worth, called into question by people who have never truly experienced what it’s like to suffer the punishment of fists slamming into your body and head. In a young, up-and-coming fighter the reaction is often muted bewilderment.

By Ron Valderrama: He was twice the heavyweight champion of the world and is viewed as one of the greatest heavyweights of his era. Tim Witherspoon was born December 27, 1957 in Philadelphia Pennsylvania and made his pro debut in 1979 with a first round TKO over Joe Adams.

By Marc Livitz: The earliest reports out of Baja California indicate Fernando Montiel of Los Mochis, Mexico prevailed via a third round knockout over Alvaro Perez of Nicaragua in a Super Bantamweight contest. The fight itself wasn’t televised in many parts of the United States.

Mason Menard won the biggest victory of his career Friday night at the Cypress Bayou Casino in Charenton, when he scored a fourth round technical knockout victory over battle tested Ghanaian Joseph Laryea.

Former world amateur gold medalist and 2008 US Olympian Demetrius Andrade picked up a career best professional victory on Friday night after cruising to a ten round points victory over Contender season two winner Grady Brewer at the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indiana, USA.

Just seven days after Andre Ward and Carl Froch battle in The Final of the Super Six World Boxing Classic, undefeated IBF Super Middleweight Champion Lucian Bute will headline when he makes the ninth defense of his title against Glen “The Road Warrior’’ Johnson on Saturday, Nov. 5 at Pepsi Coliseum in Quebec City, Canada.

With little over a month to go before the biggest fight of his career against Floyd Mayweather Jr WBC welterweight champion Victor Ortiz has suffered an injury scare, according to his manager Rolando Arellano.

Following the withdrawal of Robert Guerrero from his August 27 junior welterweight bout against Marcos Maidana due to a shoulder injury, the Argentine tough guy still hopes to fight on the scheduled date.

By Derek Bonnett: The junior middleweight division looks as though it is about to shift. Right now, the 154 pound class lacks a clear leader that is a cut above the rest. The generation of Miguel Cotto, Antonio Margarito, and Paul Williams has its days numbered even though Cotto still has sufficient claim to the top spot.

By Lou Catalano: Talk about adding insult to injury. Not only did Joseph Agbeko lose his IBF bantamweight title Saturday night in Las Vegas, but he most likely lost part of his reproductive system as well.

By Tom Gray: Antonio Tarver has witnessed the dark side and the five time world champion will candidly tell you that his life could have gone in a very sinister direction. Instead the Florida based boxing star has habitually defied the odds, most recently with a stunning ninth round stoppage of teak tough Australian, Danny Green, which saw him annex the IBO Cruiserweight Championship.

By Dave McKee: Cuba has banned professional boxing, and all professional sport, since 1962. The impact on Cuban boxers is profound. The ban helped create an environment that has produced many of the greatest amateur boxers in the history of the sport. Sadly, it has also placed significant pressure on those boxers who entertain dreams of world championships as professional fighters.

Two-time WBA heavyweight champion John “The Quietman” Ruiz has opened Quietman Sports Gym, inside of Gold’s Gym in Medford (4000 Mystic Valley Parkway), which is a suburb of Boston and only a few miles from where Ruiz grew-up in Chelsea.

In This Corner TV’s. James ‘Smitty’ Smith was on hand to speak exclusively to both Abner Mares and Joseph Agbeko after their controversial IBF Bantamweight title fight at the Hard Rock Resort and Casino in Las Vegas on Saturday night.

By Derek Bonnett: How many battles can one man fight? A professional boxer trains for weeks, months even, to prepare himself to defeat his opponent. If he runs farther and longer, he can improve his stamina. If he lifts weights and engages in power-oriented drills, he can improve his strength. If he works the pads and bags, he can hone his skill and technique.

By José Santana Jr.: Youngstown, Ohio recovered after last weekend’s pullout by hometown hero Kelly Pavlik when a show was promoted and featured local attractions under the lights at the ballpark – Bob Cene Park in Struthers.

By: Mike Sloan at ringside in Las Vegas: Former flyweight champion Eric Morel won his tenth straight bout with an easy four round destruction of the hopelessly overmatched Daniel Quevedo at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas on Saturday.

American Monte Barrett won the battle of the former world title contenders at the Telstra Clear Events Centre, Manukau City, New Zealand on Friday night when he out-pointed David Tua over 12 rounds in a rematch.

A month after dropping a decision to an underdog opponent, former welterweight world champion Kermit Cintron got back to winning ways on Friday night with a ten round unanimous decision victory over Antwoine Smith at the Ameristar Casino in Saint Charles, Missouri, USA.

By Dave McKee: For a little over two weeks in 2012 the grand spectacle of the Summer Olympics will overtake London. Less than 10 miles from Shakespeare’s Globe Theater, drama to compete with anything the Bard dared conceive will play out on the world’s greatest athletic stage.

By Derek Bonnett: One of the many attractions I look forward to each time I attend the International Boxing Hall of Fame’s Induction Weekend is the Boxing Autograph Card Show at Canastota High School in New York.

Jerry Glick reporting: There are a limited number of successful boxers in the “Forty-Plus Club”. Looking back at history there was Bob Fitzsimmons, Larry Holmes, George Foreman, Sugar Ray Robinson, among others, but the king of the group must be the “Old Mongoose” himself, Archie Moore, the late great light-heavyweight king who ruled from 1952 until his final defense in 1961. If you listen to Archie he was 45 in 1961, but his mother insisted he was three years older.

Demetrius Andrade will step up in competition and look to make a huge statement, when he takes on dangerous veteran Grady Brewer in the main event on this year’s finale of ESPN’s "Friday Night Fights" at the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indiana.

Joseph ‘King Kong’ Agbeko and Abner Mares took part in the final press conference on Wednesday ahead of their bantamweight tournament final at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas on Saturday (August 13).

By Ron Valderrama: Gabriel Ruelas was born on July 23, 1970 in Jalisco (meaning "sandy plain") Mexico, which is bordered on the West by the Pacific Ocean. At age Seven he and his family emigrated to the US in search of a better life.

By Derek Gionta: St. Louis lightweight prospect Dannie Williams will return home this Friday (August 12th) as the co-feature on ESPN 2’s Friday Night Fights’ card from the Ameristar Casino in St. Charles, Missouri.

Jerry Glick reporting: The press conference for the Bernard Hopkins-Chad Dawson fight drew a huge media presence at famous BB Kings in Times Square, New York. For Hopkins it was old hat. He even said that he’s not tired of the hype fests just yet after doing them for some twenty years.

By Derek Gionta: Monty Meza-Clay will headline the second pro boxing event held at the Rivers Casino on Pittsburgh’s North Shore this Saturday, August 13th, on a five fight card billed as “War on the Shore” as he takes on Carlos “El Rayo” Rivera in the 8 round main event.